Exploding the Myth that Parkinson's Is Only a Movement Disorder

Most people are familiar with the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) such as too much movement (tremor), slowness of movement (bradykinesia), stiffness of movement, or no movement (akinesia) such as in freezing.

 

However, non-motor symptoms related to PD are often not diagnosed and treated.  These include sleep difficulties, bladder and bowel problems, saliva-control and drooling, depression, anxiety, and cognition and memory problems.

 

In fact, the International PD Non-Motor Group, a multidisciplinary group of PD experts, has identified 30 possible non-motor symptoms in the PD Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire. You can locate this questionnaire at their website: 

http://www.pdnmg.com/tools/nms-quest.pdf

 

These PD non-motor symptoms are often not picked-up by neurologists. Many of us with PD don’t realize that they are related to the condition.

 

I am relieved that this questionnaire has been developed to help with the gap in understanding.  In fact, I’m going to complete it and bring it to my next neurology appointment.

 

Related Resource:

The following is an excellent webcast on the non-motor symptoms of PD:

Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease - Archived Webcast

The non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease webcast features a presentation by Dr. Mandar Jog, Associate Professor at the Clinical Neurological Sciences, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.

http://events.onlinebroadcasting.com/parkinsons/062006/index.php

Comments

[Paula from Caring]

Thanks for pointing this out. I've been enjoying your blog.